The Importance of Renewable Energy in Powering the Future

April 27, 2018

The world we live in is becoming more and more dependent on electrical energy, which, sadly, still heavily relies on outdated techniques involving the burning of fossil fuels. Fortunately, more and more people are accepting the fact that this system simply isn’t sustainable in the long-run. Even if air pollution wasn’t a huge factor, the shortage of these resources is something that is bound to happen in the nearest future, and it would pose an impassable obstacle towards the future growth of mankind. Overall, here are a few reasons why renewable energy is such an important trend for the future of mankind.

1. The change of the job market

The first massive change that will happen is one involving the overall job market. In a fossil-fuel-dependent energy system, there are only so many sites where these resources are extracted from (mines, shafts, lumber camps, etc.). Because of this, most people are either employed in the extraction or the transportation industry. Needless to say, both of these industries are hazardous, polluting, and due to their nature, consist of a predominantly male workforce.

With a shift towards a sustainable energy industry, most jobs revolving around it will be focused on maintenance, which might see an improvement in all of these fields. The level of pollution will go down. There will be more local jobs, as well as more jobs in general. In fact, according to one survey, 500,000 fuel jobs can easily be replaced with 700,000 jobs, which is a huge surplus that is bound to make a difference on every level imaginable. The overall hazard levels will significantly drop as well.

2. Greater independence

Another thing that renewable energy can do for the mankind is – provide people with a much greater degree of independence to every single household out there. Instead of having to rely on the electrical grid and their power providers, which are prone to changing prices, more and more households will turn towards producing their own energy. Armed with solar panels, as well as additional equipment such as SMA inverters and batteries, every household can produce their own energy. As for the ROI of such a project, it is further boosted by features such as government grants and the option of selling additional power back to the utility company.

3. Exploring other options

One of the greatest misconceptions when talking about renewable energy is the fact that people immediately focus on solar- and wind-powered solutions. In reality, there are numerous other options worth exploring, starting with biomass, geothermal energy and even hydroelectric power.
The last one is particularly underplayed, seeing how people tend to be exclusive to existing power plants, completely ignoring the idea of harnessing the power of the ocean. Even though there are some concerns that global warming might be slowing down the circulation of the oceans, the Gulf Stream alone possesses greater power than all of the rivers in the world combined.

4. Less global warming

Now we come to the issue that concerns most of humanity, which is a direct effect of fossil-fuel backed industry on global warming. In 2018, it is undeniable that the overload of our atmosphere with carbon dioxide is a direct cause of global warming, as well as the direct result of fossil fuel burning. Even though it is true that we need to stop with this self-destructive practice, this won’t be achievable until there is a suitable alternative to take its place. While some of the above-listed ideas may seem great, even in the best-case scenario, it might take some time until these eco-friendly capacities are able to take over.

5. World peace

Finally, even though this might sound a bit idyllic, some of the most ideologically colored conflicts in the future won’t have a materialistic goal as their main cause. In other words, the struggle for resources is as old as the civilization itself, which is why there is a tiny shred of possibility that by turning towards renewable energy, natural resources such as fossil fuel might lose some of their value. In this way, we as humanity would be able to scratch at least one casus belli off the list.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, the issue of renewable energy is undeniably one that will affect every single aspect of our future, both as a human race and the inhabitants of this planet. Therefore, it automatically becomes a personal responsibility of every single organization, household, and individual to do their best in order to support the idea of renewable energy with all their might.